Autism Speaks Kicks off “Light It Up Blue”

In celebration of World Autism Awareness Day on April 2, Autism Speaks will again seek to turn the world blue. Our third annual Light It Up Blue initiative is fully underway with over 350 buildings already committed to turning blue.

Among the landmarks that will be turning blue on April 2, 2012 are Rockefeller Center, Top of the Rock Observation Deck and Madison Square Garden in New York City, Hôtel de Ville in Paris, France, the famous Tokyo Tower in Japan and Canada’s CN Tower, the Sydney Opera House in Australia and Michigan’s Mackinac Bridge.

Check out LightItUpBlue.org to register your events and see a full list of participating buildings.

Last year we had over 2000 buildings and landmarks turn blue. With your help, in 2012 we will more than double that number!!

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In December I graduated from RIC college with a certificate in Autism Spectrum Disorders. Last year at this time, a coworker with a son on the spectrum told me about the blue light bulbs that Lowes was selling in honor of “Light it up blue”. I bought two!!! Already to put it in my outdoor light. Having a blue front walk light generated a lot of chatter…
Spread the word!!!

Very exciting! My family is looking forward to celebrating National Autism Awareness Day and lighting it up blue! My son Lee and his pre-school teacher Ms.Lincoln were featured in our local paper (Whittier Daily News) yesterday 02/21/12 front cover! To help raise autism awareness & encourage our city to light it up blue! Autism Speaks / Light it up blue was specifically mentioned in the article!

Very exciting! My family and I are looking forward to celebrating Autism Awareness and lighting it up blue! In fact we launched L.I.U.B. in our city of Pico Rivera already! My son who was diagnosed last June and his pre-school teacher were featured in our local paper (Whittier Daily News) on Tuesday 02/21/12. Autism Speaks / Light It Up Blue were specifically mentioned. We are hoping to spread awareness and encourage as many as we can in our community to LIGHT IT UP BLUE! There is support and there is hope and we want everyone in our community (and world!) to know that. We will take the article to local businesses and neighbors and encourage them to light it up blue in their own fun way!

Being the grandmother of two grandsons with Asperger’s I want to support this event but the condominium neighborhood that I live in will not allow the blue light bulbs (or any other color for that matter.) As a sollution, I am making blue ribbons to be placed on the doors of those who want to participate. Easy fix.

Carol, that is a great idea! I advise people to be creative and “light it up blue” in their own way even if it’s wearing blue on April 2nd! Just FYI how about a blue lightbulb in a lamp by a window? Good luck and have fun!

Does anyone know if there are any suppliers donating a portion back to Autism Awareness? I thought someone had mentioned that Lowe’s did it last year. I emailed Lowes Corporate offices yesterday and I am just waiting for a response.

Michelle, Jeanette,
The Home Depot sells blue light bulbs and LED lanterns in support of Autism Speaks and Light It Up Blue. They expect to have bulbs and lanterns in stores no later than March 25th (could be as early as March 19th). $1 from every bulb and lantern sold benefits Autism Speaks.
Sheila

I am a member of the Autism Speaks Autism Response Team, and if you call us, 888.288.4762, or email familyservices@autismspeaks.org, we’ll be happy to order a complimentary hard copy of the 100 Day Tool Kit for parents of children diagnosed within the last six months. You are not alone!!

I will be launching my music video “look into my eyes” and a quick preview of my coming soon short film about a 7 year old boy who loves to help other children in the spectrum. April 2, 2012 is the beginning of my company. My goal is to get 1 million click on that day and for sure continue to make a difference. I am a special education teacher.

Thank you Sheila, good to know. I will contact our local Home Depot to make sure they are participating. This will be good to pass on as our local station advised me that they will be running something in March encouraging our community to L.I.U.B. I should be meeting with them next week!

Lisa – arm yourself with information. You will be your child’s biggest advocate and loudest voice. Best advice I can give is to surround yourself with a strong support team. This includes having the right pediatrician, dentist, supportive family and friends. Trust me, your time and energy will be limited, you’ll want to focus on your son and his needs and keep yours in my mind as well. You can do this. There is hope. There is a ton of information on the web, I suggest focusing on a few trustworthy sources to begin with so you don’t get overwhelmed. My 3 biggest resources were/are: Autism Speaks, Connecting with autism face book page, and Temple Grandin’s website. God bless.

Watch Oprah’s LIVE Lifeclass, with Tony Robbins, on OWN at 8 p.m (EST) on Autism Awareness Day (April 2). Look for two ladies sporting blue. That will be me and my mom. Hope you see us trying to “Light It Up Blue”! Also, get your neighborhood involved. We give out blue lights to our neighbors and it looks magical. I have also strung up blue gems from our tree and engraved each with names of children with autism because they are treasured gems to all. Yay! I can’t wait.

My son Seneca has been diagnosed with Autism for the past 6 months. It’s very difficult for him as well as.for myself and our family. He has explosive behaviors at times and I am dealimg fairly well without support. Hend has destroyed five t.v’s & broken up to 3 windows and door with in 4 mnths. How do I prevent this behaviors? I want to become more involved with autisim awareness can someone advise me?